1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a modular security safe and more particularly to a high security modular security safe which includes a plurality of panels interconnected together with bolts which are offset from the edges of the panels by use of security bolt boxes. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the panels comprising the safe, and to a method of making the panels to form a safe.
2. Related Art
Security safes for the household protection of valuables, currency storage at convenient stores, and other small security applications are in wide scale use. Typically, safes employed for such applications are much smaller and lighter than those used in banks and other high security situations. The need for the smaller and lighter design is to facilitate the delivery and placement of these safes in houses and buildings typically not designed to withstand the weight of a large safe (4000-6000 pounds) or the prohibitive size of the safe.
As a result, these lighter safes typically serve only as a deterrent to burglary attempts rather than a sophisticated defense against professional burglary.
In order to increase the security of small application security safes, efforts have been made to design modular safes which can be moved piece by piece to a location where it will be used and then assembled. The modular style safe allows for ease of transportation, but prevents such transportation once assembled. It also provides a higher degree of security than other small application safes which, in some instances, can be carried away from the location.
However, despite the increased weight of modular safes currently known, the very nature of the modular design reduces the security of such a safe in comparison to a one-piece cast safe. Up until now, modular security safes, by the very nature of being modular in design, have been ineffective in preventing attacks by professional burglars. While modular safes are an improvement upon previous minimum security safes which can be carried away or easily attacked, modular safes, while immobile, still are vulnerable at the points of connection between the plurality of components that make up the safe.
Accordingly, what is desirable and has not heretofore been developed, is a modular safe which has the desired benefits of immobility and strength, with the added advantages of being impervious to attack at the critical joints of the modular pieces.
Some of the numerous efforts to provide modular safes are as follows:
Ouellette, U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,914, discloses a security device for boxes. The security device includes a cabinet device which has an open top section into which a bottom portion of the box which is to be secured is inserted into the upper inner portion of the cabinet device. The bottom base includes a locking device for securing the cabinet onto a supporting surface such as a floor.
Nikoden, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,935, discloses a case for securing valuables which includes a plurality of interconnected panels defining an interior space. The individual panels are readily transportable for convenient location and assembly; however, the case, once assembled, cannot be so readily moved from its location. Some of the panels employed include inside-facing surfaces and connectors such as threaded studs, while cooperating connectors such as openings for receiving the studs are defined by other panels, so that upon assembly of the respective panels, access to the connectors is available only from within the interior of the case. The device further discloses top and bottom panels which are interconnected to the side walls of the enclosure. The bottom panel is fitted with filler plates to eliminate any gaps along the bottom side edges of the case. It is further disclosed that said panels may be made of sheet metal, having 90 degree bends for forming the respective panel side edges. A double bend is then utilized for forming the respective lips which prevent access to the interconnecting bolts from the exterior of the security space.
Sands, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,948, discloses a vault constructed by assembling together a plurality of separate, pre-fabricated panels. Each perpendicular corner of the assembled vault is provided in a panel which extends integrally from the respective corner to define significant portions of both of the adjacent sides of the vault, thereby avoiding the security weakness of separate orthogonally-jointed panes at these corners. Each panel additionally comprises a steel plate upon which is cast a barrier material of high penetration resistance, but relatively low weight, fiber-reinforced concrete.
In one arrangement, there are four corner panels with two of said panels being interconnected by a uni-planar panel to define a first side of the assembled vault, and a space between the free edges of the other two said corner panels to define a door opening for the assembled vault on a second side thereof opposite to said first side. Said uni-planar panels also serve to provide as the top and bottom of the enclosed structure. These uni-planar panels can be inserted in multiple groups in order to form an increasingly large vault space. Except for the edges of the panels which define the door opening, each panel is formed around its edges to provide half lap joints which interfit with the corresponding formations on the neighboring panels. The overlapping joints, so-formed, insure accurate relative location of the panels and preclude the possibility of direct access being gained to the interior of the vault through the joints. All panel-to-panel connections are made internally, and none of the fixing is visible from the exterior of the vault. Each joint between adjacent corner and uni-planar panels is secured by means of a steel flitch plate which is welded along the vertical edge of one of the abutting panels and has a series of drillings which align with tapped holes along the vertical edge of the uni-planar panel, the screws being passed through the flitch plate and into the holes. Joints between the corner and rear panels and the floor and roof panels are similarly secured by steel angles which have a series of joints in each leg, which align with tapped holes along the adjacent horizontal edges of the panels, the screws being similarly passed through the angles and into the holes. In order for this joint angles to function as one structure, they must be welded together. The reinforced concrete layer of the panels is evenly distributed with randomly oriented masses of steel fibers providing a density in the range of 14,000 pounds per square inch.
Sands, et al., G.B. Patent No. 2,081,335, is the British counterpart to the above-described patent issued to Sands, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,948.
Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,874, discloses a prefabricated concrete vault with a plurality of concrete members having jointed overlapping connections with adjacent members with peripheral edges thereof having offset surfaces for each other across the seam of the joint to provide non-continuous burglar-proof seams. In other words, in each of such joints, edge surfaces formed by the groove or rabbet-type overlap provide surfaces or edges which are offset from each other so that there is no straight-through seam or direct path of entry. A plurality of metal plates are anchored along the edges of the panels and are welded together to join the panels together.
While a minimum of exterior seams are visible, giving the appearance of a permanent-type installation, the weld plates, which are welded into position in order to hold the separate portions together can easily be released from each other merely by burning out the welds and the component parts can then be transported away from the site. The result is a security safe which is highly secure in nature, but at the same time highly transportable, if necessary.
Dippold, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,338, discloses a wall panel consisting of two units that can be interconnected with other panels engaging each other in a rabbet joint in which the projecting core layer parts are spacedly superimposed on each other to provide a burglar resistant connection between the panels which themselves are difficult to penetrate by burglar""s tools.
Each of the rectangular panels is formed with rabbets in its four narrow, elongated-edge portions which extend between the major inner and outer faces of each panel. Rabbet joints connect several of the panels to form a continuous box structure when the door is closed. The box structure is covered by outer and inner cases of relatively thin sheet metal welded along the edges of the safe. Each of the panels is made up of a combination of sintered aluminum oxide and perforated sheet metal. For greater resistance to burglary, the core layers of adjacent wall panels overlap each other. The layer in one unit of each panel thus extends beyond the corresponding layer of the other unit in the direction of panel width or length by at least xc2xc of the total panel thickness. The panels further consist of a third fiber-reinforced elastomeric material, such as natural or synthetic rubber, which fills the interstices between the particles in each shell, the perforations of the shell walls and partitions, and completely covers all faces of the shell in an approximately uniform layer.
Simmons, U.S. Pat. No. 470,017, discloses an improved safe which can be easily taken to pieces so that it can be easily carried in sections; thereby obviating the immense amount of time and labor usually required in moving a safe. After moving the safe, it can be easily and quickly built up again and placed in condition for use. The separate pieces are combined via V-shaped tongue and groove longitudinal edges. The bottom of the safe is provided with a deep groove socket in its upper surface, located near and parallel with the two sides and back of said bottom section or plate. This socket or seat is tapered downwardly or V-shaped in cross section and the longitudinal sides of the socket or seat are formed longitudinally irregular, as by a series of steps or rabbeted-out portions. The top plate or section of the safe is provided with a correspondingly similar socket or seat. The two sections of the body of the safe are formed at their outer edges with a tongue or projection, in length and in cross-section similar and corresponding to the two sockets, so that when the lower section of the body is placed in position, its tongue or tapered projection and lower edge will rest and fit snugly in the seat and the outer surfaces of the sections will be flush with the outer edges of the bottom plate.
Farrel, U.S. Pat. No. 328,113, discloses a fire-proof safe with an outer shell and frame of metal and an inner frame of fire resistant material such as calcined gypsum, and/or hydraulic cement.
Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 115,728, discloses a non-modular safe which can be progressively strengthened through the addition of additional thicknesses of steel or other type of metal plate to be safe.
Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 70,202, discloses a safe upon which angle-irons are secured to the inner series of plates by rivets or screws with the angle-irons occupying all of the corners of the interior of the safe. The interior series of plates are dove-tailed into each other, one or more dove-tails of one plate entered into dove-tailed mortises in the edges of the adjoining plate or plates.
None of these efforts, taken either alone or in combination, teach or suggest all of the benefits and the utility of the present invention.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a high security modular safe.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a modular safe which can be easily transported in pieces to a location and assembled at the location.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a modular safe which can be installed at locations where it would be impossible to install an entire, pre-made safe.
It is even an additional object of the present invention that upon assembly, the modular safe of the present invention is difficult, if not impossible, to remove from the location by conventional means.
It is still even an additional object of the present invention to provide a modular safe wherein components are joined by way of a security bolt box from the interior top and bottom sides of the safe.
It is even an additional object of the present invention that the security bolts boxes be located in an offset relation to the seam between the sides and top or bottom sections.
It is still even a further object of the present invention that the top and bottom of the safe have a smaller inner portion and a larger outer portion and a rabbet or step therebetween.
It is even another object of the present invention to step out outer portion of the top and bottom sides to give the illusion that there are no seams.
It is even an additional object of the present invention to provide a modular safe that is suitable for mass production.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a modular safe having panels formed of a shell into which concrete is poured in a single pour step.
It is even an additional object of the present invention to provide a modular safe that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a modular safe which can be assembled to have a greater or smaller size by using more or less components.
It is even a further object for each of the panels to have an outer portion and a recessed inner portion, which inner portion is recessed from the edge of the outer portion on all four sides.
The modular security safe with offset security bolt box of the present invention includes a number of modular panels which serve as the top, bottom, and sides of the safe. The modular panels of the safe are cast in a plastic or metal mold with high-density concrete reinforced by expanded metal. The modular panels included outer portions and stepped or rabbeted inner portions. The panels are formed from a sheet of material bent to a desired form. Concrete is poured in to the panel, in a single pour step. The panel is vibrated to allow the concrete to settle, and the concrete is allowed to set. The outer surface can then be covered with a desired laminate. The top and bottom panels have security bolt boxes attached by bolts to the inner portions thereof. Security bolt boxes comprise a tray having a bottom and upstanding walls, and they can be formed by bending a single sheet of material. The modular side panels are attached to the top and bottom panels by bolts extending through the security bolt boxes. This results in a construction where the bolts are offset from the seams of the safe and therefore, the bolts, and the safe, are not subject to easy attack.
In another embodiment, the security bolt box of the present invention includes top, bottom and side panels for forming a safe. Opposing side panels have security bolt boxes attached thereto. The security bolt boxes each comprise a tray having a bottom and upstanding walls and can be formed by bending a single sheet of material. The top, bottom and back panels are interconnected with the side panels by bolts extending through the security bolt boxes into the top, bottom and back panels.